“The governing board of the Screen Actors Guild is being urged to ballot its members over strike action. Contract talks between the actors’ union and Hollywood studios are at a deadlock, after the latest pay deal was rejected in July. Those negotiating on behalf of SAG’s 120,000 members are calling for a ballot. They want the board to back a strike, calling it ‘unavoidable’.”
Author: sbergman
UK Composer/Conductor Warns Against Discarding God
Scottish composer James MacMillan is warning that “atheist liberals” are driving religion out of everyday life and culture. “A true sense of difference, in which a genuine pluralism could thrive, is under threat of being reduced to a lowest common denominator of uniformity and conformity, where any non-secular contribution will automatically be regarded as socially divisive by definition.”
Does Multitasking = Half-Baked Work?
Think you’re good at multitasking? Think again. Scientists say that the trend towards doing several things at once usually means just flitting between tasks quickly, and doing none of them particularly well. “Studies show that we frequently overestimate our ability to handle multiple tasks.”
The Downside of London’s New Concert Hall
Will the opening of a new concert venue in London result in a performance glut? Norman Lebrecht says that those in charge of some of the city’s mustier venues ought to be concerned over whether they can compete…
New Life For An Old DC Theater
The Eisenhower Theater at Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center reopens this week after an $18m renovation. In addition to removing some of the more obviously dated decorative features, the renovation brings the theater into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and updates the in-house audio/visual system.
Hilary Hahn, v2.0
Violinist Hilary Hahn has been reinventing her career over the last couple of years, and to her surprise (she claims to be a tech neophyte,) she has emerged as the poster girl for online engagement with classical music, as well as a leading proponent of looking outside the classical genre for inspiration.
Musicians Strike In Madison
“Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra musicians have gone on strike just two days before the orchestra is set to open its 45th season.” At issue are the number of services contracted musicians must attend, and a “peer review” process for musicians.
Strike Cripples Bollywood
“All work in India’s film and television hub of Bollywood has stopped after thousands of technicians and actors began a strike over pay and conditions. Unions representing film employees in Mumbai (Bombay) say many members have not been paid for months and are threatening to strike indefinitely.”
Magazine Dies, But Its Largesse Hangs On
“The Amazon.ca/Books in Canada First Novel Award is one of the highlights of the fall literary season, not least for the attention (and the $7,500) it gives to the winner… But there’s a twist to this year’s prize ceremony, which is being held this evening at Toronto’s uber-hip Drake Hotel: Books in Canada (BiC) has ceased publication.”
Riedel To Mimi: What Were You Thinking?
Influential NY theater critic Michael Riedel is slamming the organizers of the new $200,000 “Mimi” award for handing their first-ever prize to already-successful playwright Tony Kushner. In addition to the argument that such prizes should go to up-and-coming playwrights who need the cash, Riedel snarks, “If an advisory board is going to give someone $200,000, that board probably shouldn’t be made up of the recipient’s friends.”